The two-day musical extravaganza promises some beat-thumping music reflecting the larger-than-life rendition of India’s thriving rock scene and legacy
It has been over 35 years that India’s iconic rock music festival Mahindra Independence first took the center stage in Mumbai. What started as one event became a movement and after nine years of hiatus, the festival returns to the Bay with more than 10 rock bands performing live.
The two-day music extravaganza is scheduled to take place on November 5 and 6 at Bayview Lawns (Princess Dock, Mazgaon). “Our soundscapes are packed with a lot of different moods and energy, we particularly enjoy bringing that on stage,” says Khalid Ahamed of Kashmiri band Parvaaz, who will along with his three other band members, Sachin Banandur on Drums, Fidel Dsouza on Bass, and Bharath Kashyap on lead guitars and Khalis on vocals and guitars, will be performing compositions from their album Baran and Kun on this Sunday.
Kerala-based multi-genre music band Thaikkudam Bridge will also be performing for the first time with their 15 members in the band. The nine-year-old band will be performing some of their best songs from the past and some new compositions. Zubin Balaporia of Mumbai-based rock band, Indus Creed has been a veteran performer at the festival. The five-member band with their guitars, keyboards, bass, and drums will be performing some high-energy contemporary rock sets prepared with old and new rock machines. “There will also be a few reworked covers of some great tunes. We missed performing at I-Rock all these years.
Parikrama, a rock band from Delhi is returning to the I-rock festival with 10 members on stage. The band led by Subir Malik, Organist and Synthesizer first performed at I-Rock in 1998. “It feels like a grand homecoming for all of us. We are planning something special for the performance,” says Subir who will be performing some of the band’s originals including their iconic song Don’t Cut Me Down on day two of the festival.
Apart from Parikrama, Pentagram, a rock band led by Vishal Dadlani of the Vishal-Shekhar duo will also be performing on the opening night on Saturday, November 5. “Expect the best of Pentagram. We will be performing many of our hits with a lot of the heavier tunes. It’s an extremely special feeling to be back,” says Randolph Correia, the lead guitarist of Pentagram.
In addition, other rock bands like Zero, Bloodwood, aswekeepsearching, Avial, and The F16 will also be performing their mosh-inducing acts that promise to get your adrenaline pumping. Bombay Bandook, the winner of the country-wide online band hunt by Mahindra I-Rock will also be setting the stage on fire with their opening act on the Jawa Yezdi stage of the festival.
On November 5 and 6
4 PM onwards.
Tickets: INR 2,000 onwards.
